Refrigeration unit with framed door

ABSTRACT

An appliance having a carcass, a door hinged onto the carcass, and a frame attached to the carcass surrounding edges of the door. In an exemplary embodiment, on at least one hinge-side sidewall of the carcass, the frame may form at least one sidewall of an open slot, and a leaf-type anti-trap element may extend in an outward direction from the door into the open slot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a built-in refrigeration appliance, thedoor of which is surrounded on a number of sides by a fixed frame whenthe appliance is in its built-in state. These types of refrigerationappliances in which the arms of the frame are fastened in each case tosidewalls or to a roof of the carcass of the refrigeration appliance andextend out to the front edges of the walls of a recess in the furnituresurrounding the refrigeration appliance in order to cover a gap betweenthe refrigeration appliance and the walls of the recess are inwidespread use, especially in the American market.

The fixed frame surrounding the door restricts the freedom of movementof the door so that in general, the use of multilink hinges is necessaryto guide an opening movement of the door away from the frame without thedoor hitting the frame. If a gap occurs between the door and the framewhen the door is opened which is wide enough to get a finger into, thereis a danger of the finger being injured when the door is closed.

To remove this danger of injury, it is proposed in the Germanpublication DE 10 2005 057 133 A1 that a flexible cover element befastened to the door which moves so as to penetrate into a gap betweenside walls of the carcass and the furniture recess lying opposite oneanother. When the door of the appliance is open, this cover elementblocks off the gap between the appliance door and the adjacent furniturefront and thus, removes the danger of anything getting trapped in thedoor. However, the use of such a cover element is precluded if a fixedframe is attached to the side wall of the domestic appliance asdescribed above, since the frame occupies the space needed from thecover element disclosed in DE 2005 057 133 A1.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to create an effectiveanti-trapping facility for a domestic appliance with a framed door ofthe type described at the start.

The object is achieved, for a domestic appliance with a carcass, a doorhinged onto the carcass, and a frame attached to the carcass surroundingedges of the door by the frame, at least on a hinge-side sidewall of thecarcass, forming at least one sidewall of a slot open to the front and aleaf-type anti-trap element extending out from the door into the slot.The anti-trap element thus bridges a gap which is formed between itsedge close to the hinge and the carcass when the door is opened, so thatthere is no space for anything to run the risk of becoming trapped inthe gap.

A second sidewall of the slot is preferably formed in a front area bythe hinge-side sidewall of the carcass.

In an especially space-saving development the second sidewall is formedcompletely by the hinge-side sidewall.

To achieve good positional stability of the frame on the carcass it isexpedient for the second sidewall of the slot to be formed at least inits rear area by the frame.

For attachment to the carcass, a web of the frame extending backwardsbeyond a floor of the slot is preferably used.

If the door comprises a door leaf and a decor panel covering the frontof the door, the anti-trap element preferably penetrates into a gapbetween door leaf and decor panel.

The anti-trap element can be fixed in the gap. By contrast it ispreferably able to be moved in the depth direction in the slot to enableit to follow a movement of the door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from thesubsequent description of exemplary embodiments which refer to theenclosed figures. The figures show:

FIG. 1 depicts an exploded diagram of a refrigeration appliance inaccordance with the present invention and a furniture recessaccommodating it;

FIG. 2 depicts a part section through the housing of the refrigerationappliance and the surrounding furniture parts with the door closed;

FIG. 3 depicts a section similar to FIG. 2 with the door opened;

FIG. 4 depicts a section similar to FIG. 2 in accordance with a secondembodiment; and

FIG. 5 depicts a section similar to FIG. 2 in accordance with a thirdembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a built-in refrigeration appliance in a perspective viewwith a carcass 1 and a door 2 which is assembled from a decor panel 3and door leaf 4 largely hidden in the figure behind the decor panel 3.The door leaf 4 is embodied in the known manner as an essentially plateshaped hollow carcass filled with foam as an insulating material, whichin its closed position forms an essentially airtight seal with the frontside of the carcass 1 and together with said carcass delimits arefrigerated inner space.

The door leaf 4 is connected to the carcass 1 by two multilink hinges 5which engage on one side on the front of the carcass and on the otherside on the upper or the lower narrow side of the door leaf 4. Themultilink hinges 5 are also essentially hidden behind the decor panel sothat only part of the upper multilink hinge 5 is to be seen.

The decor panel 3 made of wood or from another normal furniture materialis matched to the outward appearance of the fronts of kitchen furnitureor other appliances not shown in the diagram which surround a furniturerecess 6 accommodating the refrigeration appliance.

A frame 7 comprises three profile sections 8, 9, 10, for example made ofextruded aluminum profile, which are designed to be installed on thesidewalls 11 or the roof 12 of the carcass 1 protruding a little waybeyond the front side of the carcass, so that a front area of the frameencloses the decor panel 3 at its side and top edges and partly coversthe front edges of sidewalls 18 of the furniture recess 6, whereas arear area engages between the carcass 1 and the walls of the furniturerecess 6 surrounding it. The profile sections 8, 10 are provided in thisrear area with a plurality of screw holes 13 which are used to attachthem into ready-made screw holes on the sidewalls 11 of the carcass 1.The corresponding screw holes can also be provided on the top horizontalprofile section 9.

FIG. 2 shows the horizontal section through the front right-hand cornerof the refrigeration appliance and the sidewall 18 of the furniturerecess 6 adjacent to it. Located on this corner—above and below thesectional plane and not shown in the figure—are the multilink hinges 5which carry the door 2.

A base plate 14 of the profile section 8 lies flat against the side wall11. A rear section 22 of the base plate 14 behind the web 16 featuresthe screw holes 13 for attaching the profile section 8 to the carcass 1.A front section 15 of the base plate 14 has a web 16 protruding from itand a web 19 parallel to the base plate 14 delimit a slot 20 open to thefront. A web 21 adjoins the front edge of the web 19 at right angleswhich rests against the front edge of the sidewall 18 and thus defines astop in the depth direction up to which the refrigeration appliance withthe frame 7 mounted thereon can be pushed into the furniture recess 6. AU-profile section 23 adjoining the web 21 to the outside protrudes up tothe edge of the decor panel 3 and forms a visual frame for the latter.

A screw 28 holds a front area of the web 19 pressed against the sidewall18. Thus a slight deformation of the—originally straight—web 19 of theprofile section 10 (and where necessary the profile section 8 embodiedas a mirror image of this) can compensate for deviations in widthbetween the carcass 1 and the furniture recess 6.

A flat flexible cover element 17, here in the form of an angled profilemade from a flexible polymer material, penetrates displaceably in thedepth direction into the slot 20 with one of its two arms 24 25connected by a film hinge 27. A front edge of the section 15 of the baseplate 14 is tapered in order to facilitate the introduction of the arm25 into the slot 20. The second arm 24 is clamped between the decorpanel 3 and an angled section 26 connecting the decor panel to the doorleaf 4.

In the open position of the door, as depicted in FIG. 3, the decor panel3 is moved forward out of the enclosure of the profile sections 8, 10surrounding it on the right and on the left, and a gap formed therebybetween the web 21 or the U-profile section 23 respectively on the onehand and the edge of the decor panel 3 facing towards this on the otherhand is blocked off by the arm 25 of the cover element 17. The arm 25 ispushed forward in the slot 20 but its extension in the depth directionand the slot 20 are dimensioned so that the arm 25 does not completelyleave the slot 20 even if the door is opened right up to a stop. Thus noobject and no finger can get far enough into the gap to be able to betrapped in the door when it is closed.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 differs from that depicted in FIG. 2 in theabsence of the front section of the base plate 14. This is reduced toits rear section 22 screwed to the sidewall 11 of the carcass 1. Thismakes it possible, while retaining the same width of slot 20 as shown inthe embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3, to reduce the free space needed forinstallation of the profile section 10 between the walls 11 and 18 ofthe carcass and the furniture recess by the thickness of the base plate14. The effect of the profile section 10 and of the cover element 17penetrating into the slot 20 is the same as described above.

It is also possible, as shown in FIG. 5, to leave out the screw on oneof the two sidewalls 18 which fixes the profile section 8 or 10 to theadjacent sidewall 18. This results in width tolerances of the furniturerecess 6 and the door 2 being compensated for by a variable overlappingof the web 20 with the front edge 29 of the sidewall 18.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications and changes will occur to thoseskilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appendedclaims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fallwithin the true spirit of the invention.

1. An appliance comprising: a carcass; a door hinged onto the carcass; aframe attached to the carcass surrounding edges of the door, wherein onat least one hinge-side sidewall of the carcass, the frame forms atleast one sidewall of an open slot; and a leaf-type anti-trap elementextending in an outward direction from the door into the open slot. 2.The appliance as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a secondsidewall of the slot formed in a front area by the at least onehinge-side sidewall.
 3. The appliance as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a second sidewall of the slot formed completely by the atleast one hinge-side sidewall.
 4. The appliance as claimed in claim 1,further comprising a second sidewall of the slot formed in a rear areaby a part of the frame.
 5. The appliance as claimed in claim 1, whereina web of the frame projecting towards a rear area beyond a floor of theslot is attached to the carcass.
 6. The appliance as claimed in claim 1,wherein the door comprises a door leaf and a decor panel covering afront of the door leaf, and wherein the anti-trap element engages into agap between the door leaf and the decor panel.
 7. The appliance asclaimed in claim 6, wherein the anti-trap element is fixed in the gap.8. The appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the anti-trap element isstructured to move into the open slot in a depth direction.
 9. Thedomestic appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the door and thecarcass are connected by a multilink hinge.